"And the job of the sheriff is for recruitment purposes." "The job of the sheriff is to be a part of diversity," he said. Hales said he would also focus on schools in an effort to aid with the office's relationship with minority communities. Robinson said he also believes in meeting people where they live.
"You make it a part of the fiber of the organization," he said. This comes through things like anti-bias training and de-escalation training, he said. Robinson said the office has to have a strong workplace culture that supports diversity and inclusion. Ashworth promised in the next few years the community will see a "drastic change in the face of the sheriff's office." He said the sheriff's office has to reflect the community in which its deputies work. "So the kid in the third grade who looks more like the deputy standing up at the front is more inclined to go up to that deputy and tell them something good or bad," he said. "It is going to get law enforcement killed." RaceĪshworth said if elected one of the first things he will do when working in local schools is make sure a female officer and a young person of color are involved in the programming. "It is going to get people in our community killed," he said. He also noted during that traffic stops there will no longer be a way for deputies to know prior to approaching the vehicle if the person has a gun. "The very topic we're talking about defunds the police," he said.Īshworth said removing the permit takes money out of the sheriff's office budget, which currently issues the permits for county residents. "But was a gun permit really that big of a burden to ask our citizens to do?"Īshworth said he gets asked a lot about running as a Democrat and defunding the police. He previously wrote a letter to Holcomb asking him not to sign the bill into law. Noting the phrase "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," Robinson said there's now no way for law enforcement to determine who is who. But he said "criminals don't apply for gun permits." Robinson said he agreed with Hales that if a criminal wants to get a gun, they are going to. More: Here's how the plan to expand Vanderburgh County's jail got a step closer to reality this week Robinson and Ashworth both took issue with the law. "I believe each one of you that are law abiding citizens should have the opportunity to carry if you choose," he said. Hales said he always carries, and he believes it's his right as a law-abiding citizen to do so. "But are we realistically going to get rid of them? Probably not." "Do I believe we have too many guns in the United States? Well, sure," he said. Hales said he couldn't ask any more than what is already asked of officers working out in the community every day dealing with drugs. Robinson said those situations can lead to eruptions of violence, and the solution would be to legalize marijuana and regulate it.
"I don't want to see marijuana transactions in back alleys and parking lots," he said. While he said he believes in strict enforcement of the drug laws, Robinson does support the legalization of marijuana. Seventy-nine percent of the people booked into the Vanderburgh County jail report having a severe substance abuse problem, Robinson said. "But we've known since the '80s we are losing the drug war," he said. Robinson echoed Ashworth's sentiments on the Joint Task Force. "I would say I think that a lot of communities, they could learn from us," he said.
He highlighted a recent investigation that led to the seizure of a pill press and fentanyl pills. He pointed to the work of the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Joint Drug Task Force as a win for local law enforcement. More: Marijuana arrests, legalization crops up as early issue in Vanderburgh County sheriff race